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Did you know that yes, you can participate in a vegan tour in Japan? Here are the details about tours for vegan food-lovers available in Tokyo by Foodie Adventure Japan:

Hello vegan foodies! My name is Jackie, and I am the vegan tour guide here in Tokyo for Foodie Adventure Japan. Foodie Adventure Japan was started by my good friend Gizem when she realized that people traveling to Japan may have some difficulty experiencing all Tokyo has to offer due to a variety of dietary needs such as gluten free, vegan, or halal. That’s when Gizem reached out to me, a long term vegan, to create a vegan tour that ensures you can travel here in Japan and experience all the wonderful food and culture—all while being vegan! I have a passion for showing the world that you can travel and dive deep into another country, and that you don’t have to compromise what you believe in to do it. At Foodie Adventure Japan, we make sure every stop we take our guests to is a locally-owned business, in order to give back to the community and ensure these businesses that align with our values are being rewarded.

We have multiple vegan tour options, with more being added each month. Currently, you can pick from a Shibuya Vegan Tour or a Harajuku Vegan Ramen Tour.

Shibuya Tour:
On the Shibuya Vegan Tour, you will get to indulge in a traditional Japanese set meal of vegan fried chicken. Then we will head towards the famous Shibuya Crossing and make some small stops along the way to learn about some vegan snacks and infamous Japanese agriculture! We arrive at a look out over the crossing where you will witness the madness below, peacefully above the chaos. Lastly, we will head towards Harajuku and Omotesando. Along the way we will take some backstreets so you can experience the true side of Harajuku and will lead to the holy grail: the fluffiest vegan donuts around! The tour concludes in Harajuku, where you can go on to Yoyogi Park, Takeshita street, or easily catch the train.

Harajuku Tour:
The Vegan Ramen Tour begins at an ethical ramen stand, where all their ingredients are locally and ethically sourced. You will enjoy a unique take on the traditional ramen recipe, but we promise it’s one worth indulging in. Then we head down the famous Takeshita street and hopefully catch a glimpse of the Harajuku girls in between kawaii photo booth shoots. We will satisfy our sweet tooth on one of Harajuku’s popular treats before heading towards Shibuya, which will take us on the backside of Harajuku. We will pick up some delicious donuts along the way to the crossing, where we end at Hachiko Statue.

Our next tour that will be added this month is a vegan night tour, which includes okonomiyaki and drinks in the famous Shinjuku district.

Throughout the three hour walking tour I am always happy to pass on any and all tips or tricks I have found after living for three years as a vegan here in Japan. We also will make a stop on both of the tours in a convenience store, where I can show you some go-to vegan friendly snacks! At the end of the tour you will receive some helpful material which will hopefully make the rest of your trip in Japan a breeze!

A new vegan and halal cake is available in the Kanto area. It can either be picked up at Ikebukuro station in Tokyo or Asaka Station on the Tobu Tojo Line in Saitama, or shipped to locations in Kanto.

The information is as follows:

“Vegan Black Forest Cake is Now Available in Japan
Good news for your sweet tooth! You can now order a vegan Black Forest Cake (BFC). It’s a perfect treat for the health conscious. Made in a family kitchen, only the most carefully selected ingredients are used. Unlike most other cakes that contain white sugar, our BFC is sweetened using beet sugar. And for flavor, vanilla bean seeds are used instead of vanilla essence or alcohol. So it’s totally alcohol free!!! When in season, fresh cherries are used. Otherwise we opt for high quality, non-colored canned cherries instead.

Our body is a trust from God, never take it for granted. So let’s take care of it in the best possible way by starting to eat healthy. Eat that which is not only taste good, but also good for our health.

For a limited time only, you can get your hands on this must have treat for *4000yen only, after tax and refrigerated shipping, to Tokyo and Saitama (500yen shipping for area other than mentioned). Pick up also available at Asaka and Ikebukuro station. It’s available only for the first 10 orders until July 31st 2019. So be sure to place your orders as soon as possible. It’s selling out quickly. Currently only 5 promo cakes are available as per this article is posted.

*Standard price after campaign promo is 6000yen inclusive of tax and refrigerated shipping across Kanto. 600yen discount available if picked up at Asaka or Ikebukuro station.

Orders can be placed via instagram Direct Message to @kikaramel , via e-mail to kikaramel(at)gmail(dot)com, or via message to Facebook Page ‘Kikaramelized’. Mention that you want the cake, then give details of expected delivery date and time, plus your address. You’ll get replied with the payment method** as soon as we got your order.
**JP Bank transfer, or PayPal (with extra 452yen fee)

Comments from customers:
The cake looked absolutely gorgeous! It was rich in flavors yet so light that I couldn’t resist another slice. As the size was rather big and it wasn’t overly sweet, I happily had the leftover in the following morning. -Kaori

It’s soooo good!! Since it’s vegan, no guilty feeling eating it no matter how much ^^ -Eka
I was initially skeptical about how good a vegan cake would match up to coventional ones, but my doubts were laid to rest the moment I tried it. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised afterwards and now have a new found craving. – Bibi

As a vegan cake, it’s so good. Recommended. Not many vegan cake could taste as good as normal cake. I can’t really tell the difference with non-vegan cake. -Nisa

About the chef:
Kikaramel has an insatiable passion for cooking and she’s a self-taught chef-in her own kitchen ever since she came to Japan in 2013. She began embracing a vegan diet in late 2015. She used to teach vegan Indonesian cooking classes at Shoji Izumi kitchen and contributed a number of recipes in the ‘Vegan Recipe of the World’ cookbook by Shoji Izumi in 2016.”

A free English guide from itravelforveganfood.com is available here with tips on reading ingredients and labels, how to buy from supermarket and convenience stores, and also a guide to vegan-friendly shops in Tokyo such as Ohsawa Japan, Bonraspail, Bio C’ Bon and Natural Mart. Includes many photos and descriptions of what to look for. Recommended!

I participated in the NEWSTART cooking class in Harajuku on May 19th. This long-running cooking class has been held for 11 years.

The classes are held 8 times a year and the menu is different every time. The recipes are chosen for their healthfulness and use only a limited amount of sugar and oils. All the recipes are vegan.

This time, we learned how to make a menu of pasta primavera, gazpacho, “tuna” salad, and banana pudding.

Everyone’s tastes are different, but my personal favorites were the gazpacho and the banana pudding. I’d never considered making a pudding without a thickener like agar, but this simple pudding relied on just the banana and tofu to thicken it, along with salt, cashew nuts and some maple syrup on top. I think it would also be good with some strawberries blended in as well.

The gazpacho was refreshing and would be perfect for the upcoming hot weather.

There were also various vegan foods and ingredients available for purchase after the class, including ground cashew nuts, cashew nut “cheese,” vegan ramen, muffins, and much more. This was a good chance to pick up some ingredients and foods that I don’t usually see in the store.

There is an optional nutrition lecture (held in Japanese, except once a year when there’s a guest lecturer from the U.S., in which case it’s translated into Japanese) that begins 30 minutes before the class, or it’s fine to join just for the class itself.

The recipes are in Japanese but help can be provided translating them into English.

The next class will be held on June 23rd, 2019 in Harajuku, and the theme will be Asian-style food, including a tofu and bean salad, young bamboo shoots with wakame seaweed, raw spring rolls, and fruit and nut balls, and soft brown rice. The class is from 10:30 to 2:00, including the lecture before we start cooking. Participation fee is ￥3000, but first-time participants get a discount of￥500.

To join, please comment on one of the NEWSTART cooking class posts on Facebook, such as in the group Vegan Japan ヴィーガン日本, or call 0495-74-0232 between 9 and 5 Mon-Thur, and between 9 and 12 on Friday. If you need to speak with an English-speaker, just make that known and you will be transferred.

*I was provided one free cooking class in exchange for writing this review. I purchased ingredients to take home with my own money.

For a limited time only, certified vegan Vego chocolate bars from Europe are available for purchase in Japan.

From the seller: “The Vego bar is different from most other chocolates available in Japan, because they are vegan, gluten free, organic, and fairly traded. They are made using whole hazelnuts, the finest chocolate and hazelnut paste. The result; a dreamy creamy hazelnut chocolate experience!

For the first time ever, they are available to purchase within Japan for a limited time only. That means once they are gone, they’re gone!
You can purchase from here (https://greenbird8.thebase.in), or via PayPal; samshiding@hotmail.com (please contact via email first).”

We tried the bars and found them to have the smoothness of milk chocolate, without any of the unpleasant chalkiness lower-quality chocolate can sometimes have. The whole hazelnuts inside were crunchy. The bars also melted perfectly so were good for cooking with.

Think Japan doesn’t have enough vegan options? Sign this petition to push for one vegan option to be offered in each restaurant in Universal Studios and Tokyo Disney Resort! Share on your Facebook wall or share with your overseas vegan and vegetarian friends to help create change in Japan and help the animals!

The 17th edition of the Vege & Fork Marketwas held on Saturday and Sunday 3rd & 4th November 2018 from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. at Asao Water Treatment Center in Kawasaki (about a ten-minute walk along a pretty river from Kakio train station). It was a bit cool and cloudy on Saturday, with poor weather on Sunday, but still, people were able to enjoy delicious vegan food. On offer were vegan burgers, koshari, Indian food, sushi, ice cream, cakes, muffins, doughnuts, bread, and cookies. The most popular booths began to sell out of items before noon on the first day of the festival.

There were also non-food booths offering home decorations like candles and dried flowers, as well as booth selling fresh flowers, massages at reasonable prices and many more things.